First Snow

Saturday evening and well into early Sunday morning, the sky opened up and let out what most area residences are already accustomed to this time of year. But this year, there has been a delay in the annual snowfall.

Northern and central Illinois have seen some snowfall already this year. But Southern Illinois has been lacking. Many prayed for a white Christmas, but were greeted with warmer than normal temperatures.

Why are the snowfall totals so low? Thanks to the El Niño pattern, warmer-than-average temperatures in November and December meant that most precipitation fell as rain rather than snow. We have seen this tendency for below-average snowfall in several past El Niño events.

In 2012 this area saw a large snowfall in the month of December. Some areas along the Illinois 13 corridor saw between 14.5 and 8 inches. A very different picture than we have seen this year.

The snow won't last long, it has already started to melt in most areas and will likely be gone by the weekend as there is rain in the forecast later this week.

The main concern are the areas that are still wet and will re-freeze into ice overnight causing very hazardous walking and driving conditions in yards, on sidewalks and in rural areas.

Though the snow is moving on, the good news is the county and city road departments will be saving quite a bit of the money that was granted them by the state when they released the money from the Motor Fuel Tax back in December.

That money will be saved by the cities in Saline County from the lower salt usage and snow plowing, few school closings, and easier road maintenance. On the other hand, the sale of shovels, snow blowers, and winter clothing have all suffered.

Weather experts are calling for rain this Friday with a bit more snow this Saturday and a low of 21 degrees over night. But it doesn't look like much more precipitation for the month of January.

According to accuweather.com there will be a lot more precipitation in February around the second week. Starting out as snow and ending with rain as the temperatures increase around Feb. 18 &19.

Though a forecast out that far does leave room for error, but overall the winter season has been a mild one to say the least.